Hemant Adhikari, open to freelance projects and full-time roles

I buildcustom WordPress themes, headless Next.js sites, WooCommerce stores, Shopify stores, React interfaces

Custom themes and plugins, headless WordPress with Next.js, WooCommerce and Shopify. Client work across India, the UAE, the UK and the US, from first brief to deployment.

Building websites since
2014
Client projects
Free developer tools
In-depth articles
How a page on this site is deliveredContent is written in WordPress, served through the REST API, rendered by Next.js and delivered to the reader’s browser.WordPresscontent, media, SEOREST APItyped JSONNext.jsserver-renderedYour visitorfast, accessible
  • WordPress
  • PHP
  • WooCommerce
  • Next.js
  • React
  • Headless CMS
  • REST API
  • Shopify
  • Liquid
  • MySQL
  • JavaScript
  • Sass
  • Elementor
  • Technical SEO
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Git
  • AI coding agents
  • Prompt engineering

What I build for clients

Eight areas of work, each with the tools I use for it and an article that shows how I approach it.

WordPress development

Business websites on WordPress with a tidy admin, a content model that fits how your team actually publishes, and code that follows WordPress coding standards.

WordPress core, PHP, MySQL, custom post types, WooCommerce

Custom themes and plugins

Themes built from your design instead of bent from a template, and plugins for the features off-the-shelf options get wrong. Page builders like Avada, Divi and WPBakery when the project calls for them.

PHP, hooks and filters, Sass, JavaScript, shortcodes

PHP frameworks: Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP

Custom web applications, admin panels and APIs on modern PHP frameworks, with clean MVC structure, migrations, queues and tests.

Laravel, Eloquent, CodeIgniter 4, CakePHP, Composer, PHPUnit

Headless WordPress with Next.js

Editors keep the WordPress dashboard they know; visitors get a server-rendered Next.js frontend. This site works that way.

WordPress REST API, Next.js, React, TypeScript

React and frontend development

PSD and Figma designs turned into responsive, accessible components that match the design closely and stay easy to extend.

React.js, Next.js, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Sass, Bootstrap

Node.js APIs and integrations

REST APIs, webhooks and background jobs in Node.js and Express that connect stores, CRMs, payment and shipping services reliably.

Node.js, Express, REST, webhooks, MySQL, Redis

Shopify and WooCommerce

Storefront features, checkout customisation and theme work for Shopify and WooCommerce stores, so merchandising and layout match the brand.

Shopify Liquid, Online Store 2.0, WooCommerce hooks, HPOS

Performance and technical SEO

Finding why pages are slow or poorly indexed and fixing it in the code: metadata, structured data, sitemaps, clean markup, caching and lighter pages that pass Core Web Vitals.

Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse, schema.org, caching, server tuning

Selected work

WordPress, Shopify and Next.js websites for property developers, yacht brokers, exhibition builders, law firms and retailers. All 9 projects

Next.js + headless WordPressOnline tools platformGlobal

ToolyConvert

A free online tools platform with more than 300 browser-based utilities, built on a Next.js frontend with a headless WordPress blog.

WordPressReal estateHyderabad, India

Ace Ventures

CMS website for a Hyderabad property developer with residential and commercial projects across East Hyderabad.

ShopifyFashion retailMadhya Pradesh, India

Threads of Harman

Shopify store for a men's clothing brand that sells online across India and through stores in Indore, Ujjain and Bhopal.

E-commerceOnline giftingIndia

G4Gift

E-commerce website for an Indian online gift store.

Free developer tools

Fifteen utilities I use on real projects, from a live code playground and a cron builder to a PDF and media previewer. They run entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded. Browse all tools

Learn with me

Free learning paths written from client work, with live “Try it” examples and a quiz at the end of every lesson. Start learning

013 lessons

WordPress Development

Custom themes, plugins, content models and troubleshooting for WordPress.

  1. Custom post types and fields: designing a WordPress content model editors understand7 min
  2. WordPress plugin development: structure, hooks and security done right7 min
  3. “There has been a critical error on this website”: a step-by-step WordPress fix7 min
023 lessons

PHP Frameworks

Laravel, CodeIgniter and CakePHP for custom web applications and APIs.

  1. Laravel for WordPress developers: routing, Eloquent, Blade and queues explained7 min
  2. Laravel, CodeIgniter or CakePHP? Choosing a PHP framework for a client project7 min
  3. Laravel Eloquent performance: N+1 queries, indexes, caching and chunking7 min
033 lessons

Headless & Next.js

Running WordPress as a headless CMS behind fast Next.js frontends.

  1. Headless WordPress with Next.js App Router: a production architecture guide7 min
  2. WPGraphQL or the REST API? Choosing a data layer for headless WordPress7 min
  3. Draft previews for headless WordPress with Next.js Draft Mode7 min
043 lessons

Frontend & React

React, JavaScript and accessible UI in WordPress and beyond.

  1. From jQuery to React in WordPress: an incremental migration that doesn't break the site8 min
  2. TypeScript for React developers: typing props, hooks, events and API data7 min
  3. Accessible React components: forms, modals, menus and focus management7 min
053 lessons

Node.js & APIs

REST APIs, integrations and background jobs with Node.js and Express.

  1. Building a production REST API with Node.js and Express: validation, auth, errors and testing7 min
  2. Handling webhooks in Node.js: signature verification, idempotency and retries7 min
  3. Background jobs in Node.js with BullMQ and Redis: queues, retries and scheduling7 min
063 lessons

Performance

Core Web Vitals, caching and front-end speed for real websites.

  1. Core Web Vitals for WordPress: fixing LCP, INP and CLS without guesswork8 min
  2. Responsive images done right: WebP, AVIF, srcset, sizes and lazy loading7 min
  3. Caching for WordPress and PHP sites: page cache, object cache, CDN and HTTP headers7 min
073 lessons

Technical SEO

Crawlability, metadata, structured data, redirects and migrations.

  1. Technical SEO checklist for developers: Next.js and WordPress7 min
  2. Structured data for developers: JSON-LD for articles, products, organisations and breadcrumbs7 min
  3. Moving a WordPress site to a new host or domain without losing SEO7 min
083 lessons

E-commerce

WooCommerce and Shopify development that survives updates.

  1. Customizing WooCommerce without breaking updates: hooks, templates and HPOS7 min
  2. Speeding up a WooCommerce store: cart fragments, HPOS, caching and checkout7 min
  3. Shopify Online Store 2.0 for developers: sections, blocks and JSON templates7 min

How a project runs

The same six steps for a new build, a move to headless, or a site that has stopped behaving.

  1. Discovery

    We talk through goals, users, content and constraints. I ask the questions that change the estimate before any code is written.

  2. Planning

    A written scope: pages, content types, integrations, hosting and what “done” means, with an estimate you can check against.

  3. Development

    Built in small, reviewable steps on a staging site, with progress you can click through rather than read about.

  4. Testing

    Cross-browser and mobile checks, forms and integrations, accessibility basics, W3C validation and page speed.

  5. Deployment

    Launch with backups, SSL, redirects and search-engine setup, timed to avoid disrupting your traffic.

  6. Improvement

    After launch: fixes, small features, updates and training for your team, so the site keeps working for the business.

Latest articles

Practical guides on WordPress, Next.js, WooCommerce, Shopify, performance and technical SEO. All articles

Background jobs in Node.js with BullMQ and Redis: queues, retries and scheduling

Move slow work out of your Node.js API: BullMQ queues and workers on Redis, retries with backoff, concurrency and rate limits, repeatable jobs instead of cron, failed-job handling, graceful shutdown and monitoring.

Accessible React components: forms, modals, menus and focus management

How to build React components that work for keyboard and screen-reader users: labelled forms with useful errors, dialogs with the native dialog element, disclosure menus, focus management after updates, live regions and how to test it all.

Draft previews for headless WordPress with Next.js Draft Mode

Editors expect the Preview button to work. In a headless setup it doesn't, until you build it: an authenticated preview route, Next.js Draft Mode, fetching drafts and revisions with an Application Password, and pointing WordPress's preview link at the frontend.

Technical knowledge

Grouped by where it shows up in a project. No percentage bars: the work and the articles show the depth.

Languages

  • PHP
  • JavaScript (ES2023)
  • TypeScript
  • SQL
  • HTML5
  • CSS3 / Sass

PHP frameworks and CMS

  • Laravel
  • CodeIgniter
  • CakePHP
  • WordPress (core, themes, plugins, Gutenberg blocks)
  • WooCommerce
  • Shopify (Liquid, Online Store 2.0)
  • Headless CMS (WordPress REST API)
  • Avada, Divi, WPBakery, Elementor

Frontend

  • React.js
  • Next.js (App Router)
  • Redux
  • Tailwind CSS
  • Bootstrap
  • jQuery
  • Responsive and accessible UI (WCAG)

Backend and APIs

  • Node.js
  • Express.js
  • REST API design
  • Webhooks
  • Payment and shipping integrations
  • AJAX and JSON
  • Postman

Databases and caching

  • MySQL / MariaDB
  • Query optimisation and indexing
  • Redis
  • MongoDB (basics)

AI-assisted development

  • AI coding agents (agentic workflows)
  • Claude Code
  • Prompt and context engineering
  • AI-assisted code review, refactoring and testing
  • Rapid prototyping
  • Verifying AI-generated code

DevOps and tools

  • Git, GitHub and Bitbucket
  • Jira (ticket-based workflow)
  • Linux servers and Nginx / Apache
  • cPanel and managed hosting
  • Docker (basics)
  • Composer and npm
  • Vercel
  • Chrome DevTools
  • Figma and Photoshop

Quality and practices

  • Code reviews
  • Unit and integration testing (PHPUnit, Jest)
  • Technical SEO
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Security best practices (OWASP)
  • Agile / Scrum

Let’s build something that’s easy to run.

Hiring for a role or scoping a project? Pick the path that fits and I’ll reply by email.

Hiring a developer

  • Frontend developer, WordPress developer and senior software engineer since 2014
  • ATS-friendly resume as a PDF, plus a print-ready web version
  • Experienced with clients, project managers and QA across time zones

Building or fixing a website

  • Tell me what the site needs to do and by when
  • I reply with questions, a suggested approach and an estimate
  • IST (UTC+5:30) overlaps the UAE working day and part of Europe’s

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